This Is For The Lonely
by Hanako A
Summary: Hermione Granger was a witch who believed in second chances. She was no fool, however, and two chances were all you got.
1. Chapter 1

**This Is For The Lonely**

**Disclaimer:** None of these characters are mine.

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Hermione Granger was a witch who believed that everyone deserves a second chance. 

That is to say, she believed in giving people a second chance in theory. In reality, she was the sort of person who held a grudge. It was hard to forgive when you could not forget, and Hermione's memory was such that she could recall every slight that any particular person had ever paid to her. But with the ball being held in celebration of the one year anniversary of Harry Potter's triumph over Voldemort, she decided it was time to give a second chance to one of her former tormenters at school.

Besides, she told herself, it wasn't as though Draco Malfoy had much of a chance to being with. He grew up inundated by his parents' remarks about how pure-bloods were superior to all; it was no surprise that he was such a nasty boy at Hogwarts. Not having to live in fear had done wonders for him, and he no longer resembled a frightened little ferret, leading Hermione to believe that now might be a good time for reconciliation. She always did appreciate the fact that he kept his marks up, unlike her friends, and she supposed if they went together for the Victory Ball, he would at least be able to make decent conversation. So after much consideration, she approached him to ask him to the fete, thinking it was time that they put the past behind them.

She was very, very wrong.

Hermione knew that the second she finished speaking.

Malfoy looked at her as though she was a small bug that he was considering squashing. "I'm sorry," he said. "But do you actually think that I would deign to be seen anywhere with you?"

Hermione felt her cheeks burn, and she silently cursed the fact that she blushed so easily. "My apologies," she ground out. "I won't be bothering you again."

"I should hope not." He looked her over once, rolled his eyes, and then started to examine his nails. "I suppose that you might have got inflated notions about yourself given your past experience with wizards. But make no mistake. Unlike your former flings, I actually have standards, and you, my dear, are not pretty enough to suit someone with more refined tastes, like me." He made shooing motions with his hands. "Now run along, like a good little witch. You have wasted enough of my time as it is."

Hermione dearly would have loved to come up with some rejoinder then and there that would leave him fuming for days. Unfortunately, he had struck at her weak spot, and she knew that she had to get out of there before she burst into tears in front of him. So Hermione fled to the sanctuary of her flat, where she promptly locked herself into her bedroom and had herself a good cry. She knew she wasn't beautiful. She knew she was passably pretty at best. It hurt so much when people reminded her of that fact, as if she would never be as worthy as someone like Ginny Weasley simply because Hermione wasn't as lovely as her. It didn't seem fair, and it didn't seem right, but it also seemed that was how the world operated.

She wound up going to the ball alone. For some time she thought that Harry would ask her to go with him—just as friends of course—since evidently Ginny was attending with another wizard and Harry would routinely complain about the whole thing to Hermione. But he wound up finding another witch to go with, that bastard, and so at the eleventh hour, Hermione found herself with no prospects for a date. She didn't resent Ron going with Lavender, as the two of them were now a couple, but it would have been nice if Harry hadn't led her on like that. She considered briefly not going but decided against that. She had nothing to be ashamed of. She wasn't going to become fodder for malicious gossip by not attending the celebration of her best friend's victory. She was going to show up, help herself to the spirits, and make her exit as soon as her leaving would be unremarked on.

Hermione was on her second drink and standing against the wall near the bar, so she had a very good view when Draco Malfoy made his entrance, with Ginny Weasley hanging off his arm. She quickly polished that off, reached for another glass, and then forced herself into the crowd to mingle. She was on her fourth drink and listening to a grouchy old codger go on and on about how the textbooks Hogwarts used were substandard (an opinion she held herself), when she decided that Draco Malfoy was worthless and he had never been worth giving a second chance. Forty-five minutes later, when she spotted Harry sparring with Malfoy over Ginny, she reflected that her best friend's taste in witches left much to be desired and that he was a wanker as well. Hermione lost track of time after that, as everything became one big blur as she sought out conversation after conversation, trying to ignore the fact that she had not been asked to dance even once tonight. It was after midnight when she was confronted with Pansy Parkinson offering her a glass of wine.

"Here. You look like you need it," the other witch said.

"Thanks," replied Hermione as she gingerly took the glass.

"It's not poisoned," Pansy assured her.

"Pity. I could use a bit of poison to put me out of my misery right now."

"I know. If I had any poison, I would take it myself instead of waste it on you." The black-haired witched leaned against a pillar. "It's somewhat comforting to know that I am not the only one who is completely miserable tonight."

Hermione frowned. "You came alone too?" she asked. She had thought she was the only young witch suffering from that stigma tonight.

"No. I wish I had though." Pansy nodded over at Harry. "He asked me, and I accepted. But that Weasley bitch hadn't even been in the room for ten minutes before he abandoned me."

Hermione winced. Harry could be a bastard. "I'm sorry he's such a git," she said. Then a thought occurred to her. "I'm surprised you're here with me, instead of comforting Malfoy for losing his date."

"That shows how little you Gryffindors know about us Slytherins. He would much rather find comfort in the arms of Daphne Greengrass." Pansy finished off her glass. "I'm Draco's last resort when it comes to finding someone to comfort him. I mean, look at me. It wasn't only Gryffindors who compared my visage to that of a dog." Her eyes blazed as she glared across the room.

Hermione felt as though she had found a kindred spirit. "Let's go," she said. "I'm feeling like having a bitter rant right now, and I would rather not give certain people here the pleasure of witnessing it." The other witch nodded her agreement.

The two of them wound up going to Hermione's flat, seeing that she lived alone while Pansy still resided at home with her parents. They did make one stop at Pansy's house though for more spirits, as Hermione only had one bottle of firewhisky at her place, and that wasn't going to be enough to last them through the night. Each witch had her own bottle as they spoke at length about stupid tarts and the wizards who coddled them.

"I don't know who I hate more," Hermione said sullenly. "Bitches like Ginny Weasley, or all the wizards who would do anything for her." She tilted her head as she pondered the question she had set before them. "I hate them both equally, I think."

"I have no such ambivalence about the matter. I hate the bitches more," Pansy declared. "I hate those witches who have never had to work for anything their entire lives. Like Daphne. All she has to do is toss her hair, and wizards come running to her. Unlike me. I've had to work for everything I have. I don't have the luxury of being able to fall back on a pretty face. As for the wizards who fall for those pretty faces…they're just pathetic really. I deserve better than them."

"That's a good way of thinking there," said Hermione. She looked at the firewhisky in her glass, almost mesmerized at how it caught the light. "No, I suppose wizards like that aren't worth our time."

"Draco turned you down, didn't he?" Pansy said abruptly.

"How do you know that?" A feeling of dread churned in Hermione's stomach, and she suddenly questioned the wisdom of imbibing as much as she had. "Don't tell me that he went around telling everyone—"

"Oh no, no," Pansy said in a rush to reassure her. "He didn't go around bragging to everyone that you had asked him. He did say that he might have considered going with you just to piss off Potter and Weasley, but Ginny Weasley was better looking and so the obvious choice." She twitched her nose. "I would have warned you if I had known."

"Bleh. I would have warned you about Harry, if I had known. Especially seeing how he made me think that of course he would be going with me if he wasn't going with Ginny and I didn't have a date. That fucking wanker. Ginny's had her claws in him ever since our sixth year. It's as though she cast some sort of spell over him. He can't think properly when he's thinking of her."

"That's called being a stupid male. You would be surprised how many of them are about. I think the only worthwhile wizard in my year in Slytherin is Theodore Nott."

"Really?" asked Hermione.

"Yes. Gregory always has been slow and cruel. Nothing much to recommend him there."

"What about Zabini?"

"He's the same as Draco."

"Pity that. He's so pretty too." Hermione thought about the Gryffindor boys in her year. "In my year, I suppose Neville and Seamus are both fine. Can't say anything for the rest of them."

Pansy raised her eyebrows at Hermione. "Not even your best friends?"

"When it comes to their taste in witches? You've seen how Harry is with Ginny. Ron's pretty much the same way. He fancies pretty precious princesses, while making fun of girls like Eloise Midgen all the time, as though he's a great catch." She huffed in frustration.

"I never knew that," Pansy said. "I suppose I don't know much about Gryffindors, given how our Houses were at each other's throats when we were students."

Then the two witches looked at each other.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, and I'm wondering if it only seems like a good idea because we're both so smashed."

"True. But I would have never humiliated myself with Malfoy if I had you to advise me."

"Yes, and I would have never said yes to Potter if I had consulted you."

"We didn't run the same circles, did we? So you would know all about the wizards that I know nothing about, and vice versa." They both thought it over silently.

"Oh fuck it," Pansy said finally. "I say let's do it."

"It's worth a try," Hermione agreed. "At the very least, it'll be nice to have someone to commiserate with."

That was the start of a beautiful friendship. Whenever Hermione thought about going out with a wizard she knew little of, she ran the idea past Pansy. That was how she knew to avoid Lawrence Montague, who always was after one thing and one thing only, while giving Marcus Flint a chance, something Hermione would have never considered without Pansy's input. In return, Hermione warned Pansy away from Dean Thomas, telling her that he still had a thing for Ginny, while convincing her to go out with Percy Weasley, who had changed a lot since his years in the Ministry. Hermione enjoyed having a female friend who she could count on for good advice. Before she only had Ginny to turn to, and Hermione never saw the point of doing that. The whole thing restored her belief in giving someone a second chance because there were people like Pansy, who would be loyal friends if only one were willing to let go of the past.

And as for people like Malfoy, who just spat in her face when she tried to make amends and let bygones be bygones? Hermione had no need for them. She didn't believe in giving people a third chance.

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**Author's note:** This is a bit different from what I usually write. I tend to write romantic comedies, instead of angst, but I thought the change might be good. What did you think? Like? Dislike? Please please let me know. 


	2. Chapter 2

**This Is For The Lonely: Chapter Two  
**

**Disclaimer:** None of these characters are mine.

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At twenty-seven, Hermione Granger was the youngest person ever to head the Department of International Magical Cooperation. She had received her appointment to the position on the eve before her twenty-sixth birthday, and she often referred to it as the best present anyone had ever got her. Technically it wasn't a present; it had been her hard work and dedication to the job that had earned her the position. But she had learned to laugh more at herself over the years so she had no problem calling it a gift while with friends.

Work of course was a different matter. She was all business there. She prided herself on how she led the department in new directions, particularly when it came to the International Magical Office of Law, which in the last year had established basic working regulations for House Elves through Wizarding Europe. That was the best thing about Hermione's position. She was finally able to influence so much change for the better in the Wizarding World.

Of course there were downsides to her job though. She had to work long hours more often than not. She also had to work with people she disliked. However she believed that one had to take the bad with the good, and so she dealt with it.

Unfortunately for her and her lunch plans for that day, one of the bad parts of her job was waiting to greet her as she locked her office so she could go off for lunch.

"Malfoy! What are you doing here?" she asked coldly.

"Now, now, Granger. Is that any way to greet someone you work so closely with?" The blond ferret was sitting in her assistant's seat, his long legs resting lightly on top of the desk.

Hermione rolled her eyes. Some things would never change. Malfoy was his usual annoying self. She hadn't realized when she took on the position how often she would have to see him. Her predecessor had seen fit to subject his company to multiple levels of review for all classified potions ingredients they tried to import and for good reason. In the past, the company been given great latitude by the Ministry and Lucius Malfoy took advantage of that leniency in order to import banned substances into the country. The drawn-out inspection process had been the subject of many complaints from the company, and so Hermione had found herself often dealing with the younger Malfoy. She didn't like the prat, but seeing how Malfoy Limited was one of the largest employers in the country and largest provider of healing potions to St. Mungo's, she had no real choice if she wanted to do her job right.

"Where's Anna?" she asked with a frown. While her assistant was a sweet girl, she wasn't the best when it came to following instructions. Hermione had told her countless times that she wasn't supposed to leave her station unattended. Obviously she would have to repeat herself yet again.

"She had to run to the loo. You're a real ogre of a boss, Granger. The poor girl looked positively frightened when I suggested I cover for her."

"Not frightened enough, I see. You don't work here so you're not supposed to cover the front desk." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Please. I was simply doing a favor for the girl. You ought to be more understanding," he said in a lazy drawl. Something about his voice always made her want to scratch his eyes out. Maybe then he wouldn't act so superior to her.

"Rules are made for a reason. Now get out," she said.

"I can't. I promised I would stay here until she gets back."

"Deal with it. I'll take over from here so feel free to leave." Hermione ground her teeth in frustration at the whole situation. She would have covered for her assistant in the first place if the silly cow had just asked.

"Even so, I can't leave just yet," he said, with a smile forming on his lips. "I need to talk to you about altering that last pre-requisite for lifting that abhorrent inspections process you've inflicted upon us."

"First of all, I didn't inflict it upon you. My predecessor did. You should be grateful that I'm willing to consider removing it if certain conditions are met. Second of all, since apparently you've forgotten, we have a meeting scheduled this afternoon to cover that very subject."

"I can't make that meeting. I have plans for the evening that I simply can't get out of." He had the audacity to wink at her then and there. Hermione was sorely tempted to hex him. It was so like Malfoy to rub in the fact that she hadn't had a serious relationship since she and Marcus had called it quits. The two of them had been very compatible as they both had competitive natures, but between the overtime she worked and the travel his job required…well dwelling on the past would serve no purpose. She sighed as she focused her attention on her current problem.

"If that's the case we will just have to re-schedule. I should have an opening some time next week."

"I was thinking about now," he told her shamelessly. "It is a subject near and dear to my heart, so I would rather not put it off. Again, I might add."

Hermione tossed her head. How dare he imply that it was her fault that this meeting had been moved so many times! "You can't blame me for the fact your social life is so busy that you can't find the time to run the family business," she told him haughtily. "Aside from into the ground, that is."

"Ha ha ha. Very funny, Granger. You know as well as I do that business has been good. Putting aside your bad attempts at humor, I see no reason why we can't have the meeting right now. You don't have anything scheduled." He tapped a thick, black book resting upon the desk.

"What the?" Hermione snatched up the book and looked at it. It was as she feared. Malfoy had been perusing her appointment book. Of course Anna had left it out—again—when she had abandoned her desk to the bastard.

"Well?" drawled Malfoy as he leaned back in his seat. "Now is good for me, and since you have nothing planned…"

"Nothing's written down because it's my lunch time," she snapped. "And I am not about to go hungry just because all of a sudden you can't make our meeting this afternoon."

"Oh far be it from me to suggest you go without a meal," he said, waving a hand languidly. "I'll buy you lunch. So how about it? Let's go."

"I don't think so." Before Hermione could lose control of her temper and tell Malfoy where he could put his insulting suggestion, Anna walked back into the room.

"Oh! Hermione! I'm sorry, but you see, I just couldn't wait any longer, and Mr. Malfoy here was kind enough to—"

Hermione held up a hand to forestall her assistant's explanation. She really wasn't in the mood for this. Right now it was all she could do hold her tongue in check and not say something critical to her assistant. She didn't want to be that sort of boss. "I don't want to hear it," she said. "Really I don't. I would appreciate it, however, if you remembered to put this away before you leave." She shoved her appointment book into her assistant's hands.

"But it was. It was inside my desk when I left," said Anna. The two witches turned to look at Malfoy, who suddenly found his fingernails to be absolutely fascinating. Hermione shook her head angrily at the whole situation. She slowly counted to ten inside her head.

"I am going to lunch now," she told them. "Anna, please make sure that you find a place for that which is more secure. Malfoy, please contact me later to ask about rescheduling our appointment. Now if you'll excuse me." Hermione turned around and hurried out of her office. Thanks to Malfoy's appearance and her assistant's incompetence she was now running late to meet Pansy for lunch. As she sped through the Ministry corridors, she reflected to herself how some things never changed, especially when it came to men. Malfoy would always be an annoying wanker. Ron would always be an indiscriminate skirt-chaser. And the less said about Harry's on-again, off-again thing with Ginny, the better.

When she finally arrived at the restaurant, she was out of breath and ten minutes late. It was also the middle of the lunch rush so it took her several minutes more before she could flag down a waiter to show her to her table. Once she was there, she gratefully collapsed into the seat across from Pansy.

"You're late," the black-haired witch noted.

"I know. I'm sorry. Something came up at work," Hermione apologized as she opened the menu placed in front of her.

"Something always does." Pansy pointed her finger at Hermione. "You need to get your priorities straight. This is exactly why you and Marcus didn't work out."

Hermione flushed. It was true that she had blown him off several times because she had to stay to work late, but the end of their relationship wasn't as simple as that. "It wasn't just me. He was always traveling. It seemed that he always had an away game whenever I was free." She sighed. "I am sure he'll be happier with someone who is able to travel with him rather than someone who is chained to a desk all day."

"I'm not," Pansy stated baldly.

Hermione decided to change the topic. "So how has Percy been these days?" she asked.

"That's a good question. I don't know. He's been holed up in his flat trying to complete that damn manuscript of his." The other witch rolled her eyes.

"Oh dear," Hermione said. "That can't be good."

"You're telling me. What is it about you Gryffindors that makes you throw yourselves into your work to the extent that you ignore everything else?" The Slytherin witch huffed in frustration.

"Sorry," said Hermione. "We all just want to do a good job, that's all. I am sure he'll make it up to you once he's finished."

"That's assuming I'll still be around!"

Hermione sighed and looked away from her friend. "You shouldn't give up that easily," she said softly. Neither of them seemed to have much luck in relationships. It was so hard to find a wizard worth dating, and once either of them did, something always came up to ruin the whole thing.

"Thank you darling. I don't plan to," drawled a supercilious voice Hermione had thought she had left far behind. Slowly she turned to her right. Sure enough, the arrogant blond wizard had decided to grace them with his presence.

_Why me?_ Hermione asked silently.

"What are you doing here, Draco?" Pansy looked sharply at her old friend.

"Is that any way to greet an old childhood friend?" he asked as he slipped gracefully into an empty seat. "We always used to play together in my mother's gardens."

Pansy cocked an eyebrow at him. "Draco, you and Theo used to compete over who could feed my pigtails to the most carnivorous plants in the gardens."

"Those were the days. Although I did have a distinct advantage over Theo as I knew the layout better. Now let's see. Oh come on now, Granger. I know you were an only child and all but isn't it time you learn how to share?" Hermione's eye began to twitch as Malfoy reached out and took the menu out of her hands.

"Did you invite him?" Hermione asked her friend softly.

"I wouldn't do that to you," Pansy replied.

Meanwhile Malfoy was frowning at the menu, ignoring the conversation between the two witches. "A warren for rabbit food, I see. Oh well. What would you ladies recommend?" he asked affably.

"Leaving," was Hermione's icy reply.

"An excellent idea. I would have recommended that myself, but I feared you would not have taken my advice. Shall we go then? I know of at least half-a-dozen places with decent food that are within walking distance of here." Hermione's right hand began to join her eye in its twitching. She took several deep breaths, reminding herself what horrible press she would receive in tomorrow's Prophet if she were to stab Malfoy with a spoon.

"Draco, you still haven't told me why you're here," Pansy said pointedly. "If your mother has some message to pass on about tonight, kindly repeat it and leave. I was trying to have a pleasant lunch out with my friend here."

"Don't let me stop you," said Malfoy. "As a matter of fact, that's why I'm here. I'm hoping that between you and food, Granger will be in a better mood as we discuss those dreadful inspections my company has labored under for the last several years."

Hermione huffed angrily. She couldn't believe his gall. She stood up and threw her napkin on the table. "That is it. I'm sorry, Pansy, but I need to go and get something to eat before I'm out of time. And as for you Malfoy—I've already told you once to contact me later about rescheduling your appointment. I'm not going to give up my lunch simply because it would be convenient for you." With that she marched out of the restaurant, determined to get a bit of lunch some place where she wouldn't be bothered by ferrets.

Pansy eyed Draco as he started to stand up. "Don't," she told him.

"Don't what?" he asked.

"Follow her." She sighed. Hermione was one of her best friends, and the only one she trusted when it came to advice on her relationships. Draco, on the other hand, was an old childhood friend who had supported her through many a hard time. She loved them both dearly, faults and all, but clearly they did not get along well with each other.

"Honestly, Draco. I am certain that you would get what you want much more easily if you didn't try to aggravate her every chance you got."

"I don't," he said, a pout settling on his face. "It's hardly my fault that she doesn't like me at all."

Pansy shot him a hard look. "You seem to have gaping holes in your memory. I sometimes worry for you." She shook her head, knowing it was a lost cause. "In any event, you shan't run after her. Since you've managed to chase her away, you're going to stay here with me. I do so hate to eat out alone."

* * *

Hermione sighed to herself as she gathered her things. What had started out as such a promising day had turned out to be absolutely horrid. She had wound up only getting a tuna sandwich for lunch, and she hadn't eaten it all as it didn't sit well with her stomach. When she got back to her office, she immediately took the time to have a discussion with Anna about her duties. It hadn't gone well. Between Anna's natural tendency towards histrionics and her own irritation in general, her assistant had wound up bawling. Hermione had ended up sending the girl home early especially she would be no use for the rest of the day. Perhaps she should have waited before having that discussion, but there had many lapses in her assistant's work as of late and Hermione had wanted to nip that problem in the bud. She would have to try to smooth things over next week, and she hoped she would be in a better mood to do so.

The afternoon had been so awful that Hermione had decided to take off early. That was something she rarely did, and never ever since she became head of her department. However since Malfoy had canceled his appointment anyway and it was Friday, she saw no harm in it especially as she was able to get a last minute appointment for a massage. After today she really needed it. Hopefully she would be well-rested when she got back to deal with whatever new crises arose.

Hermione walked out of her office and locked the door. She then walked over to her assistant's desk near the entrance of the room to double-check that everything was properly put away. She frowned as she saw her appointment book lying on top of the desk. She didn't know what she would have to do to make it clear to the girl that the book should be tucked away in a safe place. Hermione put down her bag on top of the desk so she could put the book up herself. She was about ready to leave when the front door swung open.

"Granger, Granger," said most annoying person she had ever had the ill luck to know. "Whatever are you doing?" he asked.

"Getting ready to leave for the day. And I might add that it should be me asking you that question," she replied.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten about our appointment. Remember? Take a look at your schedule and I am sure you'll see that you're supposed to meet with me at four o'clock sharp today."

"Malfoy, I would highly suggest that you get yourself over to St Mungo's to have your head examined. Short term memory loss should be taken seriously, you know. It wasn't even five hours ago when you barged into my office to call off our meeting. Something about a social obligation that you simply could not get out of."

"Yes well, I had hoped you would be amenable to meeting at lunch instead so I wouldn't have to go and disappoint my mother. Fortunately Father is on my side, and so she is bound to forgive me one day. However, I don't believe I ever explicitly stated that I wanted to cancel."

"Is that so?" said Hermione. "You should have made that clear as I took your visit earlier to mean that you wanted to put it off." She shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well. We will just have to meet next week, I guess."

"I don't see why not. We're both here so there's no reason why we can't have it now," Malfoy said.

"My point is that I'm not going to be here very shortly. I've already made alternate plans with what to do with this time." Hermione wanted to add that it was only fair; since he had ruined her lunch, she was going to take off early instead of having to deal with him yet again today.

"Oh for the love of—Granger! You can't be serious here! I've been trying to talk with you for weeks and it's been bloody impossible to—"

"That's not my fault." Hermione was quick to point out. "You were the one to cancel the first two meetings we had scheduled."

"The first one yes. But the second one I had only asked to move it back half an hour but you couldn't even do me that little favor."

She sent him a withering glare. "My schedule does not revolve around you. I cannot make changes just because it'll be more convenient for you. You knew perfectly well I had a departmental meeting that day, and I couldn't move the time back. And as for today—frankly I can't believe your gall. I told you no once but you persisted in following me and ruining my lunch. And now you're here saying you didn't really mean that you couldn't make it this afternoon and all of that was just one big lark! Give me a break, Malfoy."

"No! You give me a break!" He ran his fingers through his hair and looked thoroughly exasperated. "Come on, Granger. You know how important it is to me to get my company out of the onus of these damn inspections. You're practically forcing our potions subsidiary to shut down because it can't get the ingredients it needs. For example, re'em's blood. It's indispensable for strengthening potions for patients who need to get stronger before they can complete their treatment. We're having trouble just meeting our contract with St. Mungo's! And do you know why?"

Malfoy started to pace back and forth in front of Hermione. "It's not because we can't find the stuff. Not that it isn't rare, but our buyers were both skilled and lucky enough to procure a large source out of China. Unfortunately your regulations make it damn hard to import the stuff. First the goods get inspected while they're busy packaging the damn stuff. Okay fine. You want to make sure that nothing gets in that shouldn't. I get that. But that's not it.

"Once that is all done—your inspectors are awfully sensitive about the slightest details—it has to get shipped. And that's where the real fun begins. We have to go through inspections of each shipment on their side of the border. Because of sovereignty issues and all that rot, you let China take care of that and they take their time. I swear I've never seen people take so many breaks. Or break so many things for that matter. Our shipments have been held up for five days—five days, Granger!—waiting for some fucking customs official to get his job done. And we have to wait otherwise you won't even allow the shipment into the country. No other company has to deal with that—all they have to do is pass the next step. Which of course is for the shipment to be checked it arrives here. Seems like you don't exactly trust the Chinese to get the job done. Hmm. Maybe that's why you usually don't bother with inspections on their end.

"But that is still not it. No, of course not. That would make sense. We all know that if you're looking for common sense, you shouldn't look for it at the Ministry of Magic. You require one final inspection when we're unpacking the damn things just in case something was missed earlier. It's fucking ridiculous Granger. No other company has to work under these conditions. Just mine. I just want to be able to operate like everyone else."

"In that case, I would suggest you meet my conditions for removing that process," said Hermione. "I've already said that I agree with you that the process is long and drawn-out. But my predecessor put that there for good reason, and I am not just going to lift it because you don't like it. Once you meet my conditions, then get back to me."

"That's fucking it! We have or were about to when some idiot decide to make a big stink about one of my employees talking back to him and wrote us up! Which means we're now five years away from meeting all your damn conditions. That is exactly why it's imperative that I talk with you—right now!—to get you to amend them." He looked pleadingly at her. "Please Granger. This really needs to be taken care of straight away."

There were times when Hermione could almost believe that there was some good to Draco Malfoy. Like now for instance, when he seemed so sincere in his concern. His eyes were wide and his hair was disheveled and it would be all so easy to believe that the handsome wizard standing before her was a good, upstanding member of the Wizarding community just looking for a little bit of forgiveness. But she knew that as soon as he got his way, he would be back to his old haughty self, looking down on her because she wasn't good enough for him.

She wasn't going to fall for his act.

She wasn't going to rearrange her entire day just to make him happy, only to hear him mock her later. She wasn't going to try and help him, only to have him jeer at her later. She wasn't that young and stupid any more. She had tried to reach out to him once and she remembered all too well how badly that went. She wasn't going to be doing him any favors, not when she knew she wouldn't be getting any thanks from him since she was neither pretty nor well-bred enough for him. No, if Malfoy wanted something from her, he would have to go through the proper channels. And that meant making a new appointment since he had declared earlier today that he couldn't meet with her this afternoon because it would interfere with his social life. And maybe that would teach him a lesson, maybe next time he wouldn't be so quick to impose on her.

"Good. I'm glad to hear that you take this matter so seriously," she said as she walked past him. "Owl me next week for a new appointment. I am certain I can fit you in within the next month or two. I am a very busy person." She left him, eager to get a head start on her weekend and leaving her problems at work far behind.

* * *

**Author's note:** Thanks for reading. Reviews would be loved.

Also my thanks goes out to London Romance, Akira M, medusaasaphoenix, Jaid Ziaen, and WinnieThaPoo92 for reviewing the first chapter. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**This Is For The Lonely**

**Disclaimer:** None of these characters are mine.

* * *

The clenching of Ginny's fists was the only clue Hermione needed to alert her to the fact that her best friend had just made an appearance at the Burrow. She followed the gaze of the other witch and then frowned. The witch by his side looked eerily similar to Astoria Greengrass. The last she heard Astoria was currently seeing Ron. Her confusion cleared up as Ron walked up beside his friend with his current fling in tow. _I see_, thought Hermione. _Ron must have introduced Harry to her sister. You can tell that they are sisters, the way they look alike. _

"That fucking traitor," Ginny swore, none too quietly, as she came to the same conclusion as Hermione. "I can't believe that my own brother would…." She stormed off, leaving Hermione all alone. That was fine with her. She didn't really want Ginny's company at the moment. Ginny was prone to being a shrew to begin with, but when she and Harry were on the outs, she became an absolute nightmare.

Hermione sighed to herself as she picked her way across the room to say hello to her best friends. Right now she was really wishing that Molly Weasley would reconsider her decision not to serve anything stronger than butterbeer at these gatherings. Although she didn't need one just yet, she knew that she would be craving for a stiff drink shortly. Harry and Ginny's relationship was nothing if not tumultuous and she wasn't looking forward to the fireworks that were sure to ensue over Harry coming with someone else.

_Not that Ginny hasn't done that herself_, Hermione thought. _More times than I care to count. It gets really old really fast._

"Hello Harry, Ron," she said as she reached them.

"You're a sight for sore eyes." Ron greeted her with a hug. "It feels like I haven't seen you in ages." Hermione saw the Greengrass sisters exchange a look behind his back.

Astoria sniffed. "Don't be ridiculous, Ron. You saw her last month."

"Like I said, ages. How have you been, Hermione? Busy, I bet."

"You know our Hermione. She's always busy." Harry stepped forward to hug her as well. He frowned as he stepped back and looked critically at her. "I think you've been working too hard. You're skin and bones, Hermione."

Daphne and Astoria twittered at his statement. "Harry, don't be absurd. Hermione here is hardly going to wilt away." The two sisters giggled some more.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at the blonde tart. She then smiled viciously. "I'm sorry. I can't seem to remember your name. It's so hard to keep track of all the faces in the crowd, you know." She smirked as both blonde twits stopped laughing.

"Oh! I completely forgot," Harry said. "This is Daphne Greengrass, Astoria's sister. She was in our year, and Ron introduced us. I thought I'd bring her along, you know, just as moral support for her sister since it's her first time here."

"I see. How nice it must be to have a sister. You must appreciate Astoria for looking out for her old spinster of a sister," said Hermione. She was gratified to see Daphne huffing angrily in response. _I still have it, _Hermione congratulated herself. _More proof that I can still give as good as I get._

"Ronald," said Astoria, latching on to his arm, "you said that your mother wanted to meet me, didn't you?"

"That's right. She did." Ron turned to Hermione. "Mum said that since we've been together for so long that I had better bring Astoria around so she can meet her. Sorry. I better go and do that now before she gets upset."

"One month is a long time?" Hermione cocked an eyebrow as she voiced that thought. However Ron paid no attention to her as he had already set out to introduce his girlfriend to his mother. Harry's only response was a wink thrown in her direction, his escort dragging him along as she followed Ron and her sister.

She sighed for what seemed to be the hundredth time this evening. While she wasn't overly fond of Ginny, at least that particular witch understood that Hermione wasn't interested in her best friends. No other witch seemed to get that. All of Ron's flings looked upon her as unwanted competition, and whenever Harry was with someone other than Ginny, that witch treated Hermione much the same way. The end result was inevitably the same. Ron and Harry would get pulled away from her by their dates, and she would be left all by herself. She hated it, how they never seemed to have any time for her. They were supposed to be best friends, but sometimes she thought that she was the odd one out. Harry and Ron were best friends. She was just the witch who had saved them both repeatedly when they were younger. Now that the danger was past, they had no use for her and had moved on to better looking witches who didn't nag them so much. Hermione knew she should be used to it by now but it still hurt that they didn't bother to make any space for her in their lives.

Hermione glanced at her watch. She couldn't wait to leave. It wasn't any wonder why her love life was in such shambles. All the wizards she knew always chose something over her. With Harry and Ron, it was whatever witch they currently fancied. With Marcus, it was Quidditch. The list went on. She didn't know what it was about her but all the men she knew seemed to expect her to be all right with perennially occupying second place.

_Whoever said that there's a lid for every pot never met me. I think I'm destined to be alone._ Hermione walked back to the refreshments. While the butterbeer was no where near strong enough, it was better than nothing.

* * *

Hermione frowned as she took a sip of her coffee as she maneuvered through the corridors of the Ministry to get to her office. For some reason, everyone was giving her a wide berth this morning. She didn't know what was the cause of such odd behavior. Maybe it was because she took off early on Friday, something she hadn't done before ever since she got her promotion. Maybe someone else had heard her argument with Anna and had spread the news about it. She sighed. Whatever the reason, Hermione was certain she would be dealing with the fallout for months to come.

She rounded the corner and watched more people flee her approach. _It's almost amusing_, she thought. _Too bad that I don't get this sort of treatment when I'm really in a bad mood. It might help._ She reached her office suite and entered, wondering if Anna would be in today or if she would call in sick to avoid her boss.

"Good morning, Hermione," Anna said warily from her position at the front desk.

"Good morning, Anna," Hermione replied cheerfully. She supposed her assistant was worried about their discussion on Friday. It would probably be best to allay any misgivings the poor girl had now. "How was your weekend?" she asked.

"Oh! It was good." Anna seemed to be surprised that Hermione wasn't biting her head off. "And yours?"

"It was grand." Aside from the awkward dinner at the Burrow, it had been. Hermione had spent all of Sunday on herself. She had left early in the morning to visit her favorite book shop and wound up buying more than she had expected. After that, she had met Pansy and the two of them went to get their hair done. Pansy knew all the best stylists, and her advice was second to none on what Hermione could do to control her hard-to-manage hair. Hermione had finished the day by visiting her parents for dinner, something that she always enjoyed. All in all, it had been a very good weekend.

"That's good." Anna gulped and then looked at something on her desk. She gulped again. "I guess you haven't seen the _Daily Prophet_ yet?" she asked timidly.

"No. Why?" Hermione cocked her head, wondering why her assistant asked. "You know I usually read it here." Hermione had a policy of leaving her office open for the first half hour of each day so that her employees could see her personally with any concerns they might have. Since she never knew when she would get any visitors, she had taken to reading the paper during that time as well. She didn't want to start any real work because then it might be hard for her to put it down should someone come along.

"Oh. Yes. That's right. I just thought that today you might have seen it already, that's all."

"Oh no. You know me. I'm very much a creature of habit."

"Right."

"So is it here?" Hermione's brow crinkled in confusion. "Or did they forget to send it and that's why you're asking?"

"Oh no. It's here all right. Here you go." Anna actually cringed as she handed the paper over. Hermione wondered what could be so bad about it.

Then she caught sight of the front page.

Her good mood evaporated instantly.

"Anna," she said calmly.

"Yes?"

"If anyone comes by, tell them I'm busy and to come back tomorrow."

"Will do."

"Thanks." With that, Hermione marched into her office and then spelled the door shut. She followed that up with a silencing charm before walking over to her desk. That preparation done, she started to read the article that was featured on its front page.

_**Malfoy Limited May Have to Layoff Hundreds! **_

_Ministry Overregulation to Blame According to Company's CEO._

_Layla Ashley, Staff Reporter_

_In an astonishing interview with Draco Malfoy, current CEO of Malfoy Limited, he confesses that Malfoy Limited is on the verge of laying off hundreds of its workers. "It's all because of the Ministry's regulations," he says. "We have worked hard after the war to re-establish our reputation in the business world. However, the Ministry is not willing to let bygones be bygones and has imposed a most strenuous set of regulations upon our business."_

_The hardest hit sector of the company's business is its potions subsidiary. "The short list is a bit of a misnomer," Mr. Malfoy tells us. "It sort of implies less than a hundred, doesn't it? In reality, the short list of employees in that division that may lose their jobs is just over five hundred."_

_Mr. Malfoy goes on to express his dismay over potentially having to let go of so many of his employees. "I hate to let any of these people go. They're like family to me. They have worked so hard for our company and it is a shame that they may lose their jobs. We are still exploring alternatives, but it looks less and less likely that we will be able to avoid this massive lay off. I have tried to get a meeting with Hermione Granger, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, but that has been literally impossible. Unless we can convince the Ministry that their regulations are over the top, we will have no choice but to implement layoffs."_

_The _Daily Prophet_ tried to reach Miss Granger for comment but received no reply, highlighting the difficulties in getting in touch with her. While we certainly understand that she must be busy, given her relative inexperience and the complexities of her position but—_

Hermione stopped reading right there. "Argh!" she screamed. She stood up and looked around for the nearest thing to throw. Unfortunately, it was the quill she wrote with and lobbing that from her desk wasn't very satisfying. She remained furious. _That stupid cow, _she thought. _Tried to contact me? Ha! I've not seen a single note from the _Prophet_ ever since they were begging for help with Borneo. And how dare she imply that I'm not capable of handling my job!_ _It's that idiot who can't do her job! Ever heard of research?_

She looked around the room to see if there was anything more suitable towards venting her rage on. There was nothing. She made a mental note to fix that. Maybe one of those ugly vases that Ron gave her whenever he came back from playing outside the country. Or perhaps that thing Pansy had told her about, a kit to make miniatures of your enemies equipped with a set of pins to stick them with. That idea was a good one. She would love to have a miniature Malfoy in front of her that she could stick pins in and more. Of course it wouldn't be as satisfying as going down to Malfoy Limited and publicly castrating Malfoy, but unfortunately that wasn't legal. _It's too bad about the public castration_, she thought mournfully. _It would be nothing less than what he deserves after getting that idiot reporter to cast such aspersions on me. And I doubt it was hard for him to get what he wanted out of that tart._

She took a deep breath. She had to calm down. If she didn't then she would get no where on countering the vicious lies spread by Malfoy and his willing accomplice. She sat down in her seat and closed her eyes, breathing deeply all the while. It took several minutes but that did the trick. Though she was still angry, she didn't feel the urge to hurt anyone at the moment. She was ready to go on the warpath and get everything she wanted out of those responsible. She got up and began pacing about the room as she organized her thoughts.

_Time to get to down to business_, she thought. _I want a public apology from the _Daily Prophet._ They did not try to contact me. I want them to print our side of the story, how Malfoy keeps canceling every single fucking appointment. Yeah, he's really concerned about those employees of his. He's worried so much about them that he skips appointments he's made for weeks because something in his social life came up. Ha! A suspension on the behalf of the reporter would be nice too._

Hermione frowned. What she wanted to get out of Malfoy was less realistic. _Honestly, I don't think I'll be able to convince him to stop bothering me. Even if I gave in to all his demands, he would still think of ways to irritate me. He's Malfoy after all. That being said, I'm not going to give in to his demands. If he thinks that this damn article is going to get him special treatment…well he better think again._

She frowned at the coffee cup on her desk. Crossing the room, she picked it up and took a drink. _Cold, just like I feared_, she thought. _Oh well. Nothing a warming charm can't fix._ Hermione cast the charm and took another sip of her now-warm coffee. She continued to drink it as she had the feeling she would need the fortification before taking her next action. Once her cup was finished, she set it down and flooed the office of the _Daily Prophet's _editor.

"I need to speak to William Irving immediately," she primly informed the receptionist who answered the floo.

"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist replied in a nasally voice.

"No," Hermione replied.

"Then I am afraid I cannot connect you. Mr. Irving's schedule is full today."

"Let him know that Hermione Granger of the Department of International Magical Cooperation is on the line," she said. Hermione rolled her eyes. That should get her through.

"I am sorry Miss Ranger"—Hermione repressed a scream as the irritating witch mispronounced her name—"but there are no exceptions."

"It's Granger," Hermione ground out.

"Oh." The receptionist's tone made it clear that she did not care. Hermione had had enough. No more Miss Nice Gryffindor. If they wanted to continue treating her like a pile of dirt, then she was going to let them know who it was they were dealing with. She grinned as she thought of one way to get Irving to pay attention to her.

"You know what. I don't really need to speak with him that badly. I am just reassessing the assignments I've given to the Office of International Magical Law, and I will be recalling the specialists that had been helping your legal department with that case in Borneo. Hopefully Walsh won't mind extending his visit there. If he calls to complain, let him know that Irving is too busy to deal with him." Hermione disconnected the floo and sat back in her seat. She allowed herself a smug grin. That was sure to get his attention.

Occasionally the _Daily Prophet's _reporters' zeal in pursuing the truth would lead them to getting in trouble in other countries. Inevitably they would turn to her department for help. Currently one of their star reporters, Alex Walsh, was sitting in a prison cell in Borneo, having upset the locals while researching the underground acromantula trade. She had assigned two of her specialists for the region to help the paper in getting their reporter released, but that was before the _Daily Prophet_ had decided to cast unfounded aspersions on her ability to do her job. Well, she wasn't going to play nice any more as that had got her nowhere. She wondered how long it would take before Irving flooed her himself. She decided she wasn't going to take that floo.

She pressed the intercom button to speak with her assistant outside. "Anna," she said.

"Yes?" answered her assistant promptly.

"If the _Daily Prophet_ floos, let them know I'm busy. Please get in contact with Edwards and Richardson in Borneo. I will need to speak with them shortly."

"Yes, Hermione." There was a pause. "I think they might have had an appointment scheduled with the _Daily Prophet's_ representatives to look over…"

"Tell them to cancel all meetings with the representatives of the _Daily Prophet_. I will be in contact with them later to let them know what their new assignments will be."

"Yes, Hermione."

"Thank you." Hermione turned off the intercom. A part of her—the part that had been obsessed with following rules back in Hogwarts—felt guilty for pulling her specialists off the cases they were helping the _Daily Prophet_ on. But she mostly felt livid that the paper would print such a one-sided story without even having the courtesy to ask for her comments on the matter. It was the least they could do after all that she had done for them.

Approximately ten minutes later, her intercom buzzed. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Hermione," said Anna warily. "But William Irving from the _Prophet_ is insisting that he speak with you."

Hermione folded her hands in her lap before replying, not surprised in the least that Irving was being so demanding. _Typical_, she thought with a roll of her eyes. _If I want something, his damn receptionist stonewalls me. If he wants something, he acts like a bastard until he gets what he wants. Well I'm tired of catering to stupid, fucking men who act like two year olds. _"Please let Mr. Irving know that I am currently busy assessing the assignments I have given to the Office of International Magical Law."

"What?" she heard a voice screech from the other end of the intercom. She frowned.

"Anna, do you mean to say that William is at your desk?" she asked.

"Yes, that's right."

_Damn. I had better see him now then. Otherwise he'll just be more difficult to deal with._ "Send him in then," she told her assistant. She sat up in her chair as her door swung open almost immediately. "William," she said, rising to greet the _Daily Prophet's_ editor. "I'm surprised to see you. I thought you had too full a schedule today to meet with someone like me."

"Drop the act, Hermione," he said as he stormed up to her. "You know perfectly well that I'd be here. Especially after that threat you came up with."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Have a seat," she said, motioning to one of the chairs on the other side of her desk. "You should have a word with your receptionist," she continued as she took her own seat. "I was calling to have a conversation with you, but evidently she didn't recognize my name."

Irving grimaced. "Yes," he said. "She is an idiot."

"That makes me wonder why you hired her if you knew that all along."

"I hired her because she's an idiot. I don't have to worry about her spying on future stories on behalf of our competitors'. She's too stupid to be able to do something like that. Trust me, Hermione; it's hard to find honest help these days, much less anyone who is honest and competent."

"You should at least hire competent reporters, Will," she said reprovingly.

"You are referring to the story that ran in the paper today," he said.

"Of course. What else would have me flooing you?"

"True. However, I didn't expect you to act in such a despicable manner. You should be ashamed of yourself for trying to impose your will upon the free press like this."

Hermione leaned forward in her chair. "Let me make myself perfectly clear. I have no intent of dictating what you can and cannot report on. I have plenty of respect for the press. I have absolutely no respect, however, for that poor substitute for a reporter who obviously wasn't thinking with her head when she researched that story. I can't believe that you approved running it with the shoddy research she had done."

"On the contrary, I believe that Layla had done an excellent job. She had managed to score an interview with Mr. Malfoy himself. He generally abstains from granting interviews of any type. She had also tried to contact you for the story but you didn't reply." He shrugged his shoulders. "It's your own fault that the article only has their side."

It was on the tip of Hermione's tongue to make a disparaging remark about how the bloody tart had got Malfoy's attention, but she refrained. That wouldn't help her case at all. "She didn't bother contacting me. I haven't received any messages from the _Prophet_ since you sent that note over last week to ask for help with Walsh's case."

"You should check your correspondence more carefully. Layla owled you yesterday with a request for comment."

Hermione froze in her seat. _Yesterday? The only thing that I received yesterday from the _Prophet_ was that renewal notice that I threw away._ She cleared her throat. "Do you mean to say she included a note in the renewal notice I got yesterday?" Her voice climbed in pitch as she finished her question.

William blanched. "She didn't tell me she did that," he mumbled to himself.

Hermione could feel her rage bubbling up inside her once more. "Let me guess. In an effort to reduce costs, that tart just added a note that she wanted to talk to me in the notice she knew I was going to be sent. William, that is unacceptable. First of all, the proper channels should be used. If you want a comment from Hermione Granger, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, then you should damn well contact my office for that comment, not my home!" She bit her lip. _Right about now it would be nice to have something to lob at his head. Perhaps I should rethink adding a few ugly vases. The temptation might prove to be too much. But oh! It would be lovely!_

"I didn't know that's what she did," he replied weakly. "I just asked if she contacted you, and she said that she did."

"And you didn't bother to check that assertion?"

"Didn't I say I hired honest people?"

"That's hardly an honest trick," Hermione replied bitterly. "You know I would have responded. And why didn't you follow up yourself? I've always made time to talk to you." She narrowed her eyes. "Let me guess. You didn't want to waste any time getting that story to print in case Malfoy decided to shop it around somewhere else." He swallowed nervously, and that was the only response she needed. "It looks like I'm having a streak with these lucky guesses today."

"Hermione, if I had known—"

"It's not a matter of if. It's a matter of should have known. You're not running a small paper like the _Quibbler_. You're running the _Daily Prophet_. You have the largest circulation in all of Britain. You should have known to taken at least one more day to get both sides of the story. As it is, the last time I can recall reading a more one-sided article was back when Fudge was still Minister of Magic. So what are you going to do to rectify this mistake?"

"Of course we'll print an article in tomorrow's paper articulating your side," he offered quickly.

"That's not good enough." Hermione crossed her arms. She was out for blood. "No, not if you want my department to do you any more favors. I think I've been too nice, and you've forgotten who you're dealing with. Merlin knows that if someone had complained about the Department of Mysteries, you would have thoroughly vetted the story before even considering publication."

Irving stiffened. "I admit that I was wrong not to wait to get the full story. However, I will not be threatened into printing anything I don't want to."

"I'm not threatening you. I'm promising you. A new article tomorrow isn't fast enough. It's going to be in the evening edition as well as tomorrow's paper. There's going to be an apology for not actually contacting me—"

"But we did," he protested weakly. "If you had opened that notice…."

"You are this close to making a permanent enemy of me, Irving." She measured the distance between her thumb and her index finger, and Irving's face paled further at her use of his last name. "There are two other cases that my department is helping you with. No apology for bloody lying about contacting me, and I'll floo my specialists right now and tell them to report back here immediately. And I would just be getting started. By the time I'm done with you, you wouldn't have the parchment or the ink to print your lies on."

"What about your respect for the free press?"

"Oh, that I still have. Respect for you for admitting to hiring and then trusting incompetents to do their jobs? That's something else. Have I made myself clear?"

He gulped nervously. "Yes. So an apology and another article featuring your take. Is there anything else?"

"Just one. That idiot that you hired as a reporter is never to be allowed to do a story on my department. Ever. Again. I won't be blindsided like this by that stupid tart ever again." She was satisfied as he nodded his agreement to her terms. "Good. Now let's get started with the article you're going to print about what really happened."

Hermione grinned. If Malfoy thought that the interview he had given was going to convince her to give him whatever he wanted, then he had another thing coming. She only wished she could be there to witness his reaction when he saw her response.

* * *

**Author's note: **Thanks so much for reading. Please review. :) The next chapter will have Draco's reaction to Hermione's response, and Hermione will get asked out to dinner by someone she would have never expected. That being said, I'm not sure when the chapter will be ready though. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

My thanks goes out to sugar n spice 522, Beneeta, Akira M, blakmoon-bl, cosmpolitan, Snowe, Sciplore, Turtle's Chopsticks, tea, inadaze22, Chanteur d'ombre, and WinterhartZahneelCalina for reviewing the last chapter. :D Thanks so much!


	4. Chapter 4

**This Is For The Lonely**

**Disclaimer:** None of these characters are mine.

* * *

Draco Malfoy was have a very good day. Just thinking of the fit Granger would have when she saw that article today in the _Prophet _was enough to put a smug grin on his face. He rubbed his hands together in glee for a solid minute before he realized what he was doing. He stopped immediately. That was a bad habit, and one he wanted to cure himself of. It wasn't like him to gloat, after all.

Of course, that wasn't exactly true when it came to dealing with Granger and others of her ilk. It was downright frustrating, trying to get her to listen to him, and he wished that he hadn't had to resort to these measures. It took a lot for him to swallow his pride and publicly admit the financial straits that his company was in. He didn't have to do that. He could have just conceded defeat and then gone along with the cuts proposed by his top advisors to ensure that their profits would continue to grow. But he didn't want to do that. He was very fond of many of his employees over in their potions subsidiary, and he hated to think that he would have to let so many of them go just because he couldn't handle Granger.

Draco sighed as he checked the time yet again. It was now afternoon, and he wondered if Granger had tried to contact him at work yet. He had left work mid-morning, electing to work at home instead. He preferred to work at home when he didn't want to be contacted. It was impossible to access the manor without prior permission, permission that Granger was certain not to have. That was some payback for all the frustration she had dished out on him within the last month or so. She had been very difficult to reach, and her parting shot about him not being able to get an appointment with her for the next couple of months still rankled him. Clearly she either didn't understand or didn't care what the Ministry regulations had done to his business.

It was obvious to him that she still held on to old prejudices against Slytherins even though in the end, it wasn't him who would pay the price for the onerous inspections process his company had been having to deal with ever since the end of the war. No, his future was secure. His fortune wasn't threatened. Malfoy Limited might wind up having to slash positions, but it wouldn't go under. Even with everything the company had to deal with, it still turned a profit. However, if he allowed this to continue, he might have to close their underperforming subsidiaries, which meant hundreds of layoffs at the very least. No, whatever happened, even if he did somehow wind up losing to Granger, he would be all right. It was his employees who would suffer the most. And he had a responsibility, a duty to them to do everything he could to prevent that from happening.

He drummed his fingers on his desk impatiently. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to come home early to work. Yes, he did want to let Granger have a taste of her own medicine, but it was more important to finally be able to talk to her about those inspections. By purposefully making it hard for her to reach him, he was putting that off even further. But it was so tempting just to let her stew about not being able to contact him to fix this matter. He found the idea of her being scolded by her boss for the whole fiasco to be enticing. He groaned. Maybe he would check with his office to see if any urgent messages had come. If she had tried to get through to him, maybe he would return her floo. _And if she had tried several times, then I'll definitely ring her back_, he decided. As he rose from his seat, a knock sounded on his door.

The door opened before Draco could even walk over to it. The sharp rebuke that had he automatically formulated out of habit for the fool who had interrupted him died when he saw that it was Pansy. She stood straight up, holding something in her right hand, as she smirked at him, as if daring him to say something to her for not waiting for permission to enter his office. He coughed as he bit his tongue, knowing that getting into a verbal spat with the witch was never a good idea. She never fought fair, and she won more often than not, probably because of her ruthless tactics.

"Hello Draco. Your mother sent me to ask if you would like to take tea with us," said Pansy. She shrugged. "She thought you might like to, seeing how you've been holed up in here all day."

Draco had other things on his mind as a rather horrifying thought had come upon him. This was the fourth time in less than a week that Pansy had been at the manor. "She invited you over again? Please don't tell me that she is still attempting to play matchmaker between us."

She arched an eyebrow up at him. "Don't worry about that. I think I've finally managed to convince her that you're just not up to my standards in wizards."

He snorted. "Please. As if I'm not fully aware of just who you're—"

"Trust me, Draco, you don't want to finish that sentence." She grinned and bared all her teeth to him. He gulped.

"If you must know why I've been here so often, your mother is helping me out with a problem of mine. Not everything revolves around you, you know. Pity you haven't learned that yet." She examined him with a critical eye. "And it looks like your mother is right. You seem to be pleased with yourself," she added. "Have you really been here all day rubbing your hands together in glee?"

"I haven't done that at all," he retorted. She shot him a knowing look, and he sighed. "Well, not all that much," he amended. "I don't know what sort of stories Mother has been telling you, but I haven't been here gloating all day. I've been hard at work, as you can see." He gestured towards all the papers on his desk.

She merely raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes, it certainly looks like it. But given the article that appeared in the morning _Prophet_, I have to wonder why you're not at work. It seems like you're trying to avoid something, or someone."

"Oh, trust me, it's not me whose doing the avoiding," he mumbled under his breath.

"In any event, you might want to reconsider the steps that you've taken to resolve your conflict with the Ministry." With one smooth motion, she tossed what she had been holding onto Draco's desk. It was the evening edition of the _Daily Prophet_, and Pansy had thrown it perfectly so it fell open to the cover story as it landed. Draco's eyes went to the spot where his story should have been and swore. He quickly unfolded the paper and read the article that had replaced it.

_**Malfoy Limited's Problems Start at the Top**_

_New Facts Come to Light on the Company's CEO_

_William Irving, Editor_

_The _Daily Prophet_ has learned that Draco Malfoy wasn't telling the entire truth when he detailed his company's rocky relationship with the Department of International Magical Cooperation. It turns out that Hermione Granger, head of that department, has scheduled meets with Mr. Malfoy several times. "He keeps finding excuses to back out of our meetings," she explains. "It makes it hard to take him seriously when he's always putting his social life ahead of his company. Evidently his social life is very busy, but I am certain that your reporter knows more about that than I."_

The Prophet_ would like to extend its apologies to Miss Granger for mistakes in the earlier edition of this article. It turns out that the proper channels were not used, and she was not contacted by Layla Ashley, the reported for the earlier piece. _The Prophet_ also apologizes to its readership for not getting the complete story prior to publication._

Draco threw the paper aside. He didn't want to read any more. "Damn it!" he swore aloud. "How did that swot manage to get the jump on me?"

"It seems as though someone is suffering from the misconception that we're still in school," said Pansy, looking at him coolly as he began to pace back and forth.

"Please. You know me better than that," said Draco. He began racking his brain, trying to think of a way to respond to Granger's salvo. Going through _the Prophet_ again probably wasn't a possibility, given how his contact there was openly disparaged in the article. He would have to find an alternate route.

"Well, you could have fooled me. Because it looks like you're still trying to think of a way that you can turn this into a victory over Granger. You're forgetting who she is."

Draco snorted at his friend's suggestion. "Hardly. She's not the sort of witch you can forget about, no matter how hard you try. She's too annoying for that."

Pansy sighed in frustration. "Stop that. Look at me Draco," she commanded. He did as she said. He recognized that tone of voice. If he didn't do as she asked, he ran the risk of her jinxing him. "Now let me make this perfectly clear. Hermione Granger is not just the annoying Gryffindor know-it-all anymore. She is the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. She has extensive contacts in the Ministry beyond her own department. For Merlin's sake, the Minister himself has escorted her to official functions when she didn't have a date. That should give you an idea of who you're dealing with."

Draco drew himself up to his full height and looked down at Pansy. He didn't like where her words were going. "Are you trying to tell me that I should just give up?" he asked scathingly. "If so, then I take my previous words back. You don't know me at all."

She rolled her eyes at his accusation. "I'm not telling you to do anything. I'm just giving you a bit of friendly advice," said Pansy.

"Really? What happened to your policy of non-intervention when it came to the two of us? I thought you said that you didn't want to pick sides."

"I don't. And I'm not choosing a side. I'm simply trying to make you see sense before you start a war that will wind up causing large headaches for you. And for Hermione. It's pure self-interest, you see, so I won't have to listen to you gripe about one another. You are my friend, and she is my friend. I would rather not see the two of you at odds, especially when it's not going to do you any good in the long run."

"You mean, it's not going to do any good for Granger in the long run. We'll see how long her career lasts once it is made clear how incompetent she is."

"Argh! You're not going to listen, are you?" Pansy threw up her hands in frustration. "Draco! If you're serious about wanting to help your company, you'll work with Hermione, not against her. Play by her rules. Make an appointment and stick to it. Honestly! You're behaving like a child! I know you've grown up since our Hogwarts years so why don't you act like the mature wizard you are?"

"I'll think about it," said Draco. And he would. Not for very long, but he would think about Pansy's suggestion because she asked him to and because she was a very old friend of his. There had to be a way that he could get the edge on Granger.

"Something tells me you're just saying that to shut me up." Pansy crossed her arms and glared at him. Draco silently cursed the fact that she did know him too well. He looked innocently at her, trying to convince her without words that he was being completely honest.

He failed miserably. Pansy had long been immune to his charm.

"Very well. Go on and do it your way. You'll wind up playing by Granger's rules in the end," said Pansy. "Now come on. Let's go join your mother for tea." Draco nodded his agreement and followed Pansy out of the room. Tea sounded like just the thing he needed to clear his thoughts and plan his next line of attack.

As his listened to his mother and Pansy exchange pleasantries, he soon came up with a new plan. Granger's assistant, that Anna twit, had once told him how she kept the first half hour of each day clear for anyone in her department to see her. Draco smirked. Well, he would be waiting for Granger early tomorrow morning. If anyone dared to challenge him for that time, then he would just have to scare them away.

* * *

Hermione rubbed at her eyes as she got up from her desk to answer her door. She wondered who it could be. It was past seven so most people should have already left for home. She knew that her assistant had left a couple hours ago as Anna had dropped in to let her know that she was leaving. To Hermione's surprise, when she opened the door, Ginny Weasley was standing there.

"Ginny!" said Hermione. It was not often that she was at a loss for words but this was one of those times. "How nice to see you," she said, falling back on to the most tired, overused small talk possible.

Ginny laughed nervously in response. "I bet you didn't expect to see me here," she said, drooping her shoulders while twirling her index fingers together.

"Well it isn't often that you just drop by to see me," Hermione said, her tone full of irony.

"True that. It's just that I know you've a bad habit of working late and not eating like you should. So I thought I would come over and see if you would like to go to dinner with me," explained the younger witch. "My treat," she added as she looked hopefully at Hermione.

It was on the tip of Hermione's tongue to refuse Ginny's request. She didn't really want to spend any more time with the other witch than she had to. But then she took another look at Ginny and saw how depressed the younger witch looked. Hermione couldn't have been Ginny's first choice to eat dinner with, and that spoke volumes as to her isolation from the rest of the world whenever she and Harry were on the outs.

Hermione sighed and stood up. "All right," she said. "I am beginning to feel sort of hungry."

"Really?" Ginny seemed shocked that Hermione had agreed to go out with her. Evidently she had expected to be turned down. "That's great," she said, a smile spreading across her face. "I know this restaurant that's close to Diagon Alley that I think you'll love."

"Excellent. Could you just give me a few minutes so I can put my desk in order?"

"Oh! Of course. Take all the time you need. Can't expect you just to run off without making everything neat. You've always been the most well-organized person I know."

"Thank you," said Hermione. "I assure you that is out of necessity. I would never get anything done otherwise." Hermione put the documents she had been working on in alphabetical order and then walked over to her filing cabinet. She filed most of the documents away, but the most important ones she placed in the folder at the very front so she could return to working on them when she got in tomorrow morning. Once that was done she returned back to her desk to store all her quills and inks away. The only thing left on her desk was the morning copy of _The Daily Prophet_. Hermione glared at it, hoping that it would take the hint and spontaneously burst into flame. Of course it didn't. Hermione picked it up and was about to throw it into the rubbish bin, when she thought the better of it. She might want to hang on to it in case she needed proof of Malfoy's lies in the future. She settled on putting it in the bottom drawer of her desk. She took out her wand to place locking charms on her desk and cabinets, and then she was ready to go.

The two of them flooed from the atrium of Ministry headquarters to Diagon Alley. From there it was a five minute walk to the restaurant. Immediately upon entering, Hermione understood why Ginny thought that she would like the place. It was a quiet, serene little restaurant. It was a welcome change from the loud, boisterous pubs that Harry and Ron both favored. They were shown to a booth right away, and as Hermione sat down she could feel a privacy charm settling in around them. She looked askance at her companion.

"What's wrong?" asked Ginny as she accepted the menu from the waiter.

Hermione tilted her head to the right. "Any reason that we need a privacy charm?" she asked after the waiter had left.

"Oh! No, not really. Nothing outside of the usual reasons. You never know who might be listening," said Ginny. "That's why I like it here. The privacy charms are preset, and they activate once you sit down. Nice isn't it, not to have to cast your own?"

"Yes it is." Left unspoken was Hermione's thought whether or not one could trust a privacy charm cast by someone else. Her question was soon answered once she looked at the menu. She had to bite back a gasp at the prices. Just by looking at it from the outside, she would have never expected this place to be so expensive. But then when she took into consideration how good the service had been so far, the amenities offered like the privacy charm, and the selection offered on the menu, it began to all make sense.

"So how did you hear of this place?" Hermione asked conversationally. It didn't seem like the sort of place Harry would take anyone, but she wasn't going to say that. She didn't want to set off a rant by the other witch or worse—a crying fit.

"George told me about it. He said it's the perfect spot for when you want to get away from it all without actually running away." Ginny looked morosely at her hands and then sighed. "I've not told anyone else, except you. I thought you might like it, especially after that awful article that appeared in today's _Prophet_."

"Thank you," was Hermione's stiff response.

"Don't mention it." Ginny's face scrunched up and her lips pursed, as though she was considering what to say next. "I don't know how to put this tactfully, so I'll just come out and say it. I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone about this place. I mean, George knows and he's kept it secret because he understands that I need somewhere that I can retreat to at times when I don't really feel like—"

"Don't worry. I won't," said Hermione, interrupting Ginny's babbling.

"Really?" The other witch looked at her with pleading eyes. "From Harry and Ron too? I know they're your best friends and I'm nothing to you really, not compared to them, but—"

"Yes, really," Hermione said with a sigh. Ginny sometimes had a habit of talking incessantly whenever she was worried about something. "I understand what you're asking perfectly. Sometimes you want to go out and you want to know that you don't have to worry about running into Harry and his latest fling. I know the feeling," she said emphatically, thinking of how easily her best friends had left her behind the other night. "Trust me, I know that feeling all too well."

"Thanks." Ginny relaxed visibly. "I'm sorry. I'm guess I'm just a bit paranoid. I ran into…well, let's say lunch wasn't all that pleasant today for me." She sighed and looked down at her hands.

Hermione was suddenly struck with a feeling of pity towards the other witch. It couldn't be easy, the relationship Ginny had with Harry. When the two of them were together, there were always articles about saying how Ginny wasn't good enough for Harry or how she was cheating on him or some other such rubbish. When the two of them weren't together, everyone always took Harry's side without asking any questions, even though he had to be at fault at least some of the time. Hermione had never been fond of Ginny for many reasons, but it was hard not to pity her when she and Harry were on the outs.

Before Hermione could ask about what had happened to Ginny at lunch today, the waiter appeared to take their orders. Ginny ordered a salad, and Hermione followed suit, although she thought the pasta sounded much more appealing. That was one of the reasons why Hermione didn't like to eat with Ginny all that often. The other witch would inevitably hardly order anything, and that in turn made Hermione feel like she had to do the same, otherwise she would appear to be a pig. She sighed. She knew perfectly well that she was a healthy weight, but when she compared herself to witches like Ginny and the Greengrass sister…well, there simply was no comparison.

It didn't take all that long for their food to arrive, probably because nothing had to be cooked, and they soon settled down to eat their dinner. Hermione woefully looked at the salad she had ordered and she knew that she would be raiding her fridge later that evening. They ate together in silence. Hermione didn't know what to say to Ginny really. The two of them weren't that close at all. She much preferred Pansy's company to that of Ginny as she and the Slytherin witch had plenty in common with one another. She knew that Ginny felt the same way about her. If it weren't for the fact that Ginny and Harry were currently at odds, the younger witch would have never invited her to dinner the way she had.

"So I saw your response in the evening _Prophet_," Ginny said hesitantly.

"That's good," was Hermione's reply. She was happy to hear that Irving had taken her so seriously. It was a pity that she had to go to such lengths to ensure that the _Prophet_ treated her and her department fairly, but at least all her work earlier was showing results.

Ginny laughed nervously. "Good for you. I was worried there when I saw the morning edition. I thought that you would be in trouble, no questions asked. The Ministry is infamous for being that way. I guess I should have known better than to think that. It'll take more than Malfoy to back you into a corner."

Hermione nodded her head. Of course the other witch had underestimated. Her best friends did that constantly so why not the rest of the world?

"But yeah. That article this morning was something else. Part of me can't believe that the _Prophet_ would be so foolish as not to contact you before rushing to print such accusations. But another part of me says that of course they would. Look at all the rubbish they printed during the war."

Again Hermione simply nodded her head. Another thing about eating with Ginny was that she was perfectly capable of caring on a conversation entirely by herself. It was as though the other witch couldn't stand the silence and so just had to fill it, even if that meant babbling the whole time. Hermione sighed. She hoped that Harry and Ginny patched things up soon. This wasn't how she had wanted to spend her evening. What was more, it was always easier to be around Harry when he was seeing Ginny as opposed to some witch who was jealous of Hermione's friendship with the famous wizard.

"But there was some truth to what they printed this morning," said Ginny, her words drawing Hermione out of her thoughts.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes. You see I had lunch with Dennis Creevey today. He works at Palatable Potions, which is owned by Malfoy's company. He said that they've been having trouble getting the ingredients they need so things have been really slow at his work lately."

"I see," said Hermione. "And of course, if cuts were made, he would be one of the first to lose his job," she added. That was the way of the Wizarding World, unfortunately. Those wizards and witches who were of Muggle origin like herself were always given the short end of the stick. It wasn't fair, but that was the way the world operated. Hermione had ended that practice in her own department, but there was only so much influence she could exert on the rest of the world.

"Yes," Ginny said slowly. "Because he hasn't been working there long, you see. Only for the last three or four months. He had such a hard time finding a job after he lost his last one."

"That doesn't surprise me. That's how it is for us Muggle-borns," Hermione pointed.

"I know. It's not right, of course." Ginny paused and Hermione could see the wheels turning in the other witch's mind as she selected her words. "It's kind of strange to say this, you know. But when it comes to hiring Muggle-borns? Malfoy Limited has some of the most progressive policies out there. Dennis was telling me about it. Their policy states that they can't discriminate against Muggle-borns."

"There's a big difference between policy and practice though." Hermione took a bite of her salad, sadly noting that there wasn't much left. She idly tried to recall what she had in her fridge as she would undoubtedly be raiding it as soon as she returned home.

"Not there. That's why he says he likes it best over all the jobs he's held since leaving Hogwarts. He says it's the best workplace he's ever had." Ginny looked up hopefully at her. "I know Malfoy's a huge git and all, but that's just something I wanted you to know, Hermione."

"Thank you," said Hermione as she speared another piece of lettuce on to her fork. She sighed softly to herself. She got what Ginny was trying to say. She had known it before, that plenty of people would be hurt if she continued to levy the inspections process upon Malfoy Limited. However, she simply couldn't roll over and give Malfoy everything that he wanted. She wasn't a pushover like that and she never would be.

* * *

**Author's note:** It has been ages since I last updated this fic. My apologies for that. Hopefully the next update--in which Draco continues to ignore Pansy's advice and tries to confront Hermione directly--will be sooner. In any case, please review. :D I would really appreciate it.

My thanks goes out to everyone who took the time to review the last chapter: Beneeta, inadaze22, Akira M, Snowe, merryday, dreamingdarling, sarabara8692, The Accountant's Daughter, Chanteur d'ombre, Delihla, tea, Turtle's Chopsticks, AC, PotterEntourage, rah-rah8, thegreenwonder, German Lady, sugar n spice 522, and pink-strawberries.


	5. Chapter 5

**This Is For The Lonely: Chapter Five  
**

**Disclaimer:** Only the plot is mine. The characters, setting, and everything else belong to JKR.

****

Hermione's conversation with Ginny lasted far longer than her dinner did. It was a couple hours later when she finally was able to make her excuses and Apparate over to her flat. She sighed softly as she tossed her bag on to the sofa and took off her coat. It was far too late for her just to be getting back home. Still she felt relieved to finally be able to relax.

That feeling of relief was short-lived. She noticed her kitchen light was on as she put away her coat. _Great_, she thought. _Just what I needed right now. Another surprise guest. Who could be visiting me at this hour? There aren't many who have access here, and most of those are from work just in case of an emergency. _She heaved a deep sigh. _Well, let's hope that I can get rid of whoever it is sooner rather than later._

Her hand on her wand—some old habits die hard, while others never do at all—she proceeded to her kitchen. "Hello," she called out. "Who's there?" Silently she promised herself to set up a detection charm this weekend so she would know right away rather than having to ask.

To her surprise, a mop of messy, dark hair set above a pair of brilliant green eyes popped up to greet her. "Hi Hermione," said Harry Potter. "Work late again?"

"Oh. Hello Harry," she replied. She had almost forgotten that she had given her friend Apparition privileges way back when he used to visit her all the time. It had been so long since he had last stopped by that she had begun to toy with the notion of taking him off of that list. "And no, I left work at a decent time tonight," she told him.

He brushed the fringe out of his eyes and looked at her with suspicion. "Was the sun still out?" he asked.

"I don't remember."

"I'll take that as a no." He settled back into his seat at her table. "So where were you?"

"Out for dinner with a friend," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders. She smiled at him before adding, "I have to say I wasn't expecting the Inquisition."

He raised an eyebrow at her but didn't take the bait. "I see. I suppose I should have owled you first. I was kind of hoping to catch you tonight. You know, just to grab a bite to eat and talk. I didn't see much of you at the Weasleys' this weekend."

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that was all his fault, but she didn't. While it was sometimes depressing how little the boy cared about his friendship with her, she didn't want to chase him away, especially not when he had taken the time to see her. _Even if it's just so he can rant about Ginny_, she mentally added. _Really. Sometimes I think the two of them are made for each other. _ Hermione walked over to the table and pulled out the chair across from Harry. She was on the verge of sitting down when she thought the better of it.

"Oh! How long have you been here? Not long, I hope."

"No, not long. Maybe an hour or so," was his answer.

She winced. For Harry to wait so long to see her, there simply had to be something that he wanted from her. "I'm sorry. Are you hungry? Scratch that. You must be starving." She walked over to her fridge. Opening the door, she peered at the contents. "I'm absolutely positive that there's something in here that we can eat."

"We?" he repeated. "I thought you had dinner."

"I did," she replied absently. "But I can do with a small snack. Just to keep you company, you know."

"I see." He paused. "By the way, I don't recall you mentioning what friend you had dinner with."

Hermione froze in place, wincing at how pointed that question was. "No, I didn't, did I?" she muttered. As soon as the words had left her mouth, she found herself stifling a groan. That was a terrible response. She knew that Harry was able to deduce just who she had dinner with by not answering his question like that. She spun around, closing the fridge door behind her, and looked over at Harry. His brow was furrowed. His face was covered with a sort of pained expression. He looked so pensive and sad that it was enough to make her heart ache. Not knowing what to say, she waited for him to break the silence.

"So," he finally said. "Did Gin look well?"

"The same as ever, I suppose. Or at least the same as she was last weekend. She was there too, you know," she added, a hint of accusation behind her voice. Though her dinner with Ginny had been pleasant enough, it was mostly Harry's fault that the other witch had sought her out. Hermione tried to stay out of her friends' spats—all too often they each shared in the blame—but she was still miffed at the way Harry had walked away from her at the Burrow and the way he had ignored her for the rest of the evening. It wasn't fair. There was supposed to be a give and take in any friendship. However, with her friendship with Harry, somehow it always felt as he was always the taker, that he never had _any_ time to spare for her unless he wanted something.

_Like now_, she noted. Hermione knew Harry well enough to suspect that he had some ulterior motive for showing up tonight. She had thought that he had wanted to complain about Ginny, but now she was wondering if he had intended to pump her for information about on again, off again girlfriend instead.

He ducked his head shyly. "Yeah, I know. Didn't see her much." He looked up hopefully in her direction. "I noticed that you talked to her a bit though."

Hermione closed her eyes. _So that's it. I guess I was sort of expecting it. Harry never really visits just to see me._ She opened her eyes and turned back to the fridge. Silently she dug out some leftovers, most of a roast chicken and some mashed potatoes. She set them down on the table in front of Harry and then took the seat across from him. One flick of her wand later, and the table was set. She waved her wand again to warm the food.

"Are you upset with me?" Harry asked, his eyes wide. He looked like a little boy afraid that his mother was going to scold him.

"Not at all," she lied pleasantly. "However, if we're going to talk about Ginny, I for one want some sustenance in me." She wrinkled her nose, thinking of her unsatisfying dinner earlier. "Well, more sustenance than a very small salad, that is."

He shot her a stern look. "Hermione, you're not trying to lose weight are you? Because really, you're just skin and bones. I don't care what those Greengrass twits say."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Funny you should say that, seeing how you were with one of them," she noted dryly. "And no, I'm not dieting. If I was, I certainly wouldn't be eating a second dinner with you."

"It hardly counts as a second dinner if your first was just a few shreds of lettuce," he replied.

She tilted her head to the side. "Actually I like that line of reasoning. I might adopt it in the future."

"I'm not joking." He glared at her.

"Neither am I. Honestly! I don't see why you're so upset about it." Hermione savagely took a bite of chicken. It was just like Harry to show up announced at her flat and then proceed to nag her about something or other. It was like he was doing it just to prove to himself that he still cared, that he was still being a friend to her. However, when they were in public together, things were very different. Time and time again he had ignored her in favor of his chosen witch for the evening. She took a drink out of her glass. It was time for her to change topics, otherwise she would be in a very bad mood for the rest of the night.

"Enough about me. I thought you wanted to talk about Ginny," she said rather pointedly.

"Oh. Her." He grimaced openly. "Suddenly I find that I no longer feel like talking about her."

"I see." Hermione felt exasperated at Harry and his attitude. He and Ginny were stuck in an awful point in their relationship. Clearly at least one of them had to make a decision about whether it was worth their while to move forward or not. Unfortunately neither of them was mature enough to realize that. Sometimes Hermione felt like locking the both of them in a room into they either had reached a decision or killed one another. She didn't think she was the only one who felt that way. The endless drama that was Harry and Ginny had long become stale to all those around them.

"I just don't know what to do," Harry suddenly said. He played with his food, pushing it around his plate. "I…I love her, I think, but it's just that sometimes I can't stand her. Like this last time. I've told her countless times that all I want is a normal life. And what do I catch her doing? Giving interviews to magazines about me and even calling up reporters to tip them off about where we'll be for the weekend. I just want it to stop!"

"I think you control your own fate when it comes to that," said Hermione. She didn't point out that if Harry truly wanted to avoid the limelight, going out with Daphne Greengrass wasn't the best way to get that accomplished. If anything the Greengrass sisters were even bigger fame whores than Ginny. She knew better, however, than to say anything to Harry on the subject. She knew that would backfire on her. He would only ignore her advice and cling to the tart in question even more.

"You mean just end things with her? For real?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Only if that's what you really want," she stated.

He started to pick at his food again. Silence filled the room and stretched the space between them. Hermione shook her head sadly, knowing that he wouldn't say anything else until he was good and ready. She returned to polishing off her own plate. Dealing with Ginny had been strenuous enough. Throwing Harry in as well made her downright starving. She was mostly finished with her food when Harry spoke up.

"Sometimes when I'm with her, I think that's what I want," he said softly. He was looking in Hermione's direction, but not at her, his eyes slightly unfocused. "But then when I'm without her, I can't bear to think of her moving on without me. I don't want to be left behind. Sometimes it seems like everyone just leaves me behind," he said. His gaze refocused on to Hermione. Though his eyes were dry, she could tell that he was on the verge of tears.

"That's not true, Harry." She put down her fork and reached out to hold his hand. "I'm still here for you, and I always will be. So is Ron, even if it's sometimes hard to get his attention. And let's not forget the senior Weasleys. I know that both Arthur and Molly think of you as another son."

"Sounds good, but it doesn't ring true to me. I don't want to think how any of the Weasleys would take it if I broke things off with Ginny for good. Maybe Ron would be okay with it, but let's face it, his focus is primarily on whatever witch he is dating. And as for you…you're always _busy_, Hermione. It makes me tired, just thinking of how hard you work all the time. It's awfully difficult to get a hold of you just to talk."

She felt like rolling her eyes, but didn't. Obviously the boy had no clue. Harry was too used to her taking time out of her day and seeking him out when he was troubled. He wasn't accustomed with having to be the one to initiate contact when he needed to get something off his chest. Hermione had been able to do that during school, but she now had her career to worry about. It was a little cold, perhaps, but then she couldn't very well be expected to spend the rest of her life looking after Harry and his emotional well-being. He had to start doing that at some point in his life.

She decided to lighten the mood with a touch of humor. "That's funny. And here I thought I gave you my business card with all my contact info. I must remedy that one of these days."

He laughed at her joke but his mirth didn't quite reach his eyes. "Good one," he said. "Honestly Hermione, haven't you ever heard of a vacation?"

"Oh definitely. People keep wanting me to approve theirs. I generally do."

"I meant for yourself." She was about to answer him, but he waved her off. "Think about it. It's been ages since we've last spent any meaningful amount of time together. You must have at least a week of vacation time coming to you. We could spend it together, just like old days. My treat. You wouldn't have to worry about paying for a thing."

"That sounds tempting." The thought did have a certain appeal. She could use a little rest and relaxation, and the thought of being spread out on the beach somewhere, soaking in some sun…but no. She couldn't. She had too many responsibilities resting on her shoulders for her to pack her bags and floo away on a whimsy. Any vacation would require at least a month of planning on her part. And frankly that sounded like too much work to add to her already full schedule.

"I'm sorry. I can't." She smiled to take away any bite from her words. "In a month or two, maybe. But I can't leave my department without any notice."

"I see. I guess I expected as much. You're not the most spontaneous person I know," replied Harry. His shoulders slumped down as though he was genuinely disappointed. Then he perked up and he pushed his glasses up his nose. "But I have another idea. You know the annual Victory Ball? It's in less than a month. Wouldn't it be smashing if we went together?"

Her temper flared to life once more. This was so typical. It was just like Harry to make some unreasonable request of her that she had to turn down. Then he would look sad and spring upon her something else. It was a tactic he had used many times upon her, and all too often, successfully. It wasn't going to work this time.

There was no way Hermione was going to attend any function with Harry. Her frame shook with rage as she recalled how he tended to treat her at large parties. He would be solicitous of her and her needs at the start, but it wouldn't last. Either he would start making eyes at Ginny or his attention would wander off to some other attractive witch. The end result was always the same. She would be left to her own devices, abandoned by the friend who had begged her to attend with him.

She wasn't going to fall for that trick this time around. She wasn't going to let herself be used that way again, not even by Harry.

She pursed her lips together before replying. She was too tired to argue, but she felt that she had to be perfectly clear that she had no intention of going there with Harry. "No," she said. "I don't think that's the best idea."

He looked taken aback by her response. "Why not?" he asked. "Just as friends of course—"

Hermione didn't let him finish that thought. "Of course, just as friends. That way I don't feel slighted when you abandon me before the evening's even half over for Ginny or some other witch." She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Thanks, but no thanks."

"I wouldn't do that," Harry insisted.

She rolled her eyes. She hated it when Harry was so blind to see her side of things. She knew how it would be if she gave in to him. "Unlike last time? When you caught sight of Cho Chang and just had to catch up with her then and there?" she asked.

He flushed. "Well no. That's different. I hadn't seen her for years and I was thinking…with the way things were going with me and Ginny, I thought it couldn't hurt to say hello." He smiled fondly at some memory. "That was a good night."

"For you. Not for me. I turn my back for one minute, and the next, you're gone. I spent the next half hour looking for you frantically only to be informed by Lavender and Parvati that you're holed up with Cho somewhere." Just the memory of that conversation with her former roommates made her livid. They had been anything but kind in their remarks to her.

"Merlin, I'm sorry, okay. I promise not to run off without letting you know first this time. I didn't know you got jealous like that," he said petulantly.

"Don't bother. We won't be going together." She heaved a sigh. "Honestly! It's not a matter of jealousy, Harry. It's a matter of common courtesy. You don't want to go with me. You don't want to spend the entire evening with me. And I'm fine with that, really I am. What I don't like is how you insist on dragging me along as a placeholder of sorts just in case there's no one there to catch your attention." _Not that that has ever happened_, she noted silently. _In some ways, Ron has been a bad influence on Harry._

Her friend looked stricken at her words. He swallowed nervously several times, his eyes full of guilt. "I…I didn't…honest, Hermione I wasn't thinking of doing something like that. I wouldn't ever treat you like that ever. Maybe once or twice I've danced with another witch, but that's because I thought you wanted to be left alone because you were feeling poorly."

She felt like taking her plate and hurling it at his head. How could anyone be so oblivious? Whenever she went anywhere with him as friends, she always wound up feeling aggravated because he wouldn't stop checking out other witches. She understood that wizards couldn't help but notice a pretty witch, but Harry always stopped and stared. Then he would make matters worse and leave her to fend to herself. That was what she hated the most; all the pitying glances that were thrown her way on those occasions.

But she didn't feel it was worth fighting over his past behavior. He was her friend. So long as he was willing to accept the fact that she was never going to accept an invitation from him again, she was willing to let bygones be bygones.

She reached out and laid a hand on his arm. "Don't worry about it," she told him. "I'm not angry."

"But you're disappointed in me."

She cocked her head to one side and thought about it. When it had first happened, she had been so many things—angry, disappointed, and bitter all at once. Now she found that she no longer really felt one way or another about the way he had left her behind. She had become accustomed to the idea that he really didn't want to waste any of his time on her. The only thing she cared about was it not being used like that again. But if she told Harry that she hadn't ever been disappointed in him, then he would know it for the lie it was. So she told the truth to him, as gently as possible.

"Maybe once, but not any more. You can't help but be yourself." She shrugged her shoulders. Harry was a young wizard and shouldn't be blamed for acting like one. "I just have no wish to repeat the experience ever again."

He caught her hand in his. "So does this mean you're giving me a second chance?"

_That boy doesn't know the meaning of give up, does he? Just as well considering that we all relied on him to end the war and all. But still...it makes it more difficult to me to tell him no._ "If by a second chance you mean my agreeing to go anywhere as your date, then no. Absolutely not." She pursed her lips together. "I would think that I've earned that much respect from you at the very least." _Considering everything I've done for you, everything I've put up with for you_.

For a moment, it seemed as though he was going to protest what she had said but then he thought the better of it. "If that's what you really want, Hermione," he replied glumly.

However Hermione wasn't about to be taken in by his sad act. "It is," she told him firmly. Thinking that it was a prudent time to switch topics, she then asked him about how his latest case was going. His eyes lit up, and he replied eagerly, asking her several questions in turn about various tracking charms. It was a relief for her to be back on more comfortable grounds with him. Perhaps it was sad that she was used to him picking her brains, but she didn't mind it. She liked being able to help him with obscure spells. It was infinitely more rewarding that trying to help him patch together the mess that was his love life.

****

**Author's note:** Long time, no update. My apologies for that. I just had trouble with this chapter because it kept turning out wrong. It's still not perfect, but hopefully it gets through the idea that Hermione is giving up on her friendships too easily. Please review as I'd love to know what you think.

And my thanks goes out to everyone who took the trouble to review the last chapter: Noni, pink-strawberries, Akira M, Snowe, gtbioteach, tea, xladykittyx, Agent Jaid, Mrs Malfoy, DodgerMcClure, DCoD, mkhtl, Ceralyn, magaritama, MyLookOfDenial, Eva1983, villianvalkyrie, crimsoneyes44, Molly-Hater!!, Denisse, and Lady Katherine2.


	6. Chapter 6

**This Is For The Lonely: Chapter Six  
**

**Disclaimer:** Only the plot is mine. The characters, setting, and everything else belong to JKR.

* * *

Hermione rubbed at her eyes with one hand as she got out of the lift the next morning, her coffee cup cradled in her other hand. She took a long draught out of it and then set off towards her office. Harry hadn't gone home until well after midnight, and so she had got little sleep. On the bright side, she had managed to avoid any serious arguments with him.

She sighed softly to herself. Somehow Hermione couldn't help but feel sorry for Ginny. Harry was dithering about what to do with his love life because he didn't know exactly what he wanted yet. And that was why he wasn't about to give up on Ginny entirely, just in case it turned out that he really did want her. It didn't seem very fair to Ginny, but it was beyond Hermione's powers to make Harry see that.

_Perhaps I should have tried,_ she chided herself. _But no. I don't think he's ready yet to see sense. Witness his ridiculous idea that I would want to go anywhere with him._ She shook her head in disbelief. Like she had told Harry, she didn't blame him for acting like such a git—at least not any more. She had been upset the first couple times he had abandoned her. But she didn't want to be put in that situation any more and she didn't feel bad about telling Harry no. _Merlin knows that there are plenty of witches willing to accompany him anywhere_, she noted. _He'll have no problems at all finding a date._

She made the right turn towards her office, navigating more out of habit rather than by conscious thought. She mumbled greetings as she passed people she knew. In a matter of minutes, she was standing in front of the door to her office suite. She took one long gulp of coffee before pushing open the door.

"Good morning, Anna," she said as she walked inside.

"Good morning, Hermione," Anna replied. A pinched, nervous look covered her face, and Hermione almost groaned, wondering what was wrong now. "Um…you have a visitor for you in your office."

"Ah. Someone wanting to take advantage of office hours?" Hermione shook her head ruefully. Of course that would happen on a day when she was half-asleep. _Ah well. Maybe it will wake me up, seeing how it breaks the usual monotony of my schedule._

"You could say that," Anna muttered under her breath.

Hermione looked quizzically at her assistant. "Is there something you're not telling me that I should know?"

Her assistant winced. "You're not going to like who's waiting for you," she said quietly.

That gave Hermione pause. Then the color drained from her face. There was only one person who was bastardly enough to scheme how to ruin her day first thing. Frowning she set her coffee cup on a bookshelf. It would simply be too tempting to lob it at the ferret if it was indeed him who was waiting in her office.

Which he was, of course.

"Get out," she said through gritted teeth.

"My my, Granger. Didn't your parents ever tell you not to grind your teeth like that? That's a surefire way to damage them," he tut-tutted her. "And to think you're the daughter of not one, but two dentists?"

"Are you losing your hearing, Malfoy? I told you to leave."

"Actually I was trying to give you a second chance to start this conversation appropriately. Something like 'good morning' might be nice. I suppose it would be asking too much for you to say something along the lines of how nice it is to see me," he drawled, leaning back in _her_ chair.

That sent her eyes rolling. "I do not have time for this," she grumbled to herself. "Malfoy, get out before I call security to escort you out. If you need to see me, then you can ask my assistant for an appointment like everyone else."

"Come now, Granger. You know as well as I know that you keep the first thirty minutes of your day open. That's why I made certain to get here before you so we would have that entire time to discuss my company's issues."

"This time is strictly for intradepartmental items," Hermione retorted. "It's not for impromptu meetings because you find it impossible to keep appointments."

That prompted Malfoy to roll his eyes at her, which annoyed her even more. "Let's be reasonable, shall we? I understand that you set aside this time primarily for your people to bring any concerns they have to you. And if any of them were here, I would yield to them and be on my way. But no one's here. So could we please just talk about lifting those restrictions now instead of putting it off again?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Do you mean to say that if any of my employees came by to talk to me that you would shut up and go away?"

"Yes." He nodded his head. "I would."

"I don't believe you."

"Merlin! That is just so like you, Granger. Haven't you realized that we're not in school anymore? Hanging on to petty, house rivalries—"

"I'm not," Hermione interrupted him. "If I held on to those ideas, then I wouldn't be friends with Pansy, now would I?"

"Fine then," he huffed. "But you can't deny you're treating me as though I'm still the same spoiled brat I was in school."

"But you are. Look at the way you've behaved. You come in here and expect special treatment from me because you're a Malfoy." She sneered at him. "You've not changed one bit, and I doubt you ever will. Now get out of here before I have the Aurors take you out in chains." The icy fury in her voice left no doubt that would be his fate if he lingered any longer. Malfoy stalked out of her office, cursing under his breath.

"Finally," Hermione said after he had left. She couldn't believe Malfoy's gall to come in first thing in the morning and demand she address his problems straight away. Hopefully now he would see that she wasn't going to bend the rules for anyone and him least of all.

* * *

"Damn it!" Draco swore as he entered his study. He slammed the door shut behind. "Damn that stupid bitch!" He had decided to return home after his failed meeting with Granger rather than going to work. Draco knew himself well enough to know that he would take his temper out on his employees if he went to the office now. It was much better to retreat to his study and have a drink or two before trying to do anything else.

A shot of firewhisky sounded brilliant right now, and so he strode over to the cabinet where he kept his stash. He poured himself a glass and quickly doused it. He picked up the bottle to pour himself another drink but thought the better of it. He could already feel a headache coming on from the frustration doled out to him by Granger. It would be foolish to compound it by drinking too much.

So instead he went over to his desk. He flopped himself and then pulled out the quarterly reports. Then he got to work, crunching numbers, trying to figure out what areas he could wring more efficiency out of it so that he could keep all his companies healthy. Every thousand galleons he pinched could save another job, if worse came to worst.

Caught up in the intricacies of Arithmancy, Draco slowly worked his way out of his bad mood. His concentration was broken, however, when his stomach gave a sudden lurch, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since breakfast. He looked up at the clock. "That late already?" he said to himself. He stood up and stretched, wincing as his back cracked in several places. "Best to go out and get some lunch then. I've spent enough time in here."

He trotted out of his study and headed towards the kitchen. The lunch hour had already passed so there would be no point in heading to the dining room as it would have been cleared long ago. Draco knew that he could have always summoned an elf to fetch him something, but after sitting for so long, he wanted to walk and stretch his legs.

He had just entered the dining room on his way to the kitchen when he was interrupted. "I was wondering when you would make an appearance. I should have known that eventually hunger would drive you from your den," said his mother, appearing from behind him.

Draco froze mid-step. He turned around and pasted a smile on his face. From the tone of his mother's voice, he was in for some sort of lecture although he knew not what for. "Hello, Mother. It's nice to see you too," he said pleasantly. He stayed on high alert, ready to exploit any opportunity to charm his way out of a scolding.

"And it's nice to see that you have retained some of the manners that I attempted to drill into you as a child," she replied with a dramatic sigh.

He clasped a hand to his chest and assumed an innocent expression. "Your words injure me, Mother."

"Stop that right now, Draco," she said sharply. "You know as well as I do that your behavior as of late has been atrocious. I thought you knew better than that."

"My behavior?" He blinked, taken aback by her accusations. He couldn't think of anything that he had done to upset her so. He shook his head from side to side. "I honestly have no idea what you are referring to."

That earned him an eye roll. "You're being very slow today. Maybe you did injure your head that one time Lucius dropped you." She ignored his howl of protest and forged on. "Very well then. Since it does seem that you are truly ignorant as to why I am upset with you—I was referring to the way you've been treating Hermione Granger lately."

Draco's mouth dropped open. "Pardon?" he said. "You're upset with how I've been treating Granger?" He was aghast at her words. He simply couldn't comprehend where his dear mother was coming from. "I must have heard you wrong. Certainly what has you upset is how that silly bint has been ignoring all my pleas for a meeting with her," he stated. He scowled as he remembered his most recent failure just this morning.

But Draco was in for an even bigger shock. Suddenly his mother raised her hand and slapped him across the face. He looked at her mutely as he raised a hand to touch his sore cheek, which was still warm from the blow.

"That attitude is exactly what I'm talking about." She wagged a finger at him. "Don't think that I've not been following this little saga in the papers. I know all about how you've been trying to bully her to meet on your own terms. You're acting just like your father did all those years ago when money was all that was needed to rule the Ministry."

"I'm nothing like Father!" Draco retorted hotly.

"Yes…and no. Certainly your goals are different. He sought a measure of control over society while you're merely trying to restore our family name. So perhaps comparing you to him is a little harsh. I think what drives your behavior towards Miss Granger is your old school rivalry rather than any sense that she is inferior to you," said his mother. "But in the end, the reasons for your behavior matters little. What counts for far much more is your actions and how people perceive them."

Draco drew himself up stiffly. "I like to think," he said in a slow, deliberate tone, "that my actions since taking over for Father prove what sort of man I am."

"Yes. For anyone else that might be enough, but not for a Malfoy. Our family's reputation still hangs by a thread. Think of how it must look like for you to insist on head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation to not only give into your demands but to rearrange her schedule at the drop of a hat to meet on your terms."

"It wasn't like that!" Draco clenched his fists at his side. He was handing on to his temper by a thread. If anyone aside from his mother was making such accusations of him, he would have hexed them already.

"It wasn't?" His mother scoffed at him in disbelief.

"No, it wasn't. I simply suggested to her that we have our meeting over lunch rather than later that afternoon so that I could arrive on time to the dinner party you were having that evening. Of course, she refused because it's me. Even worse—she went ahead and canceled our scheduled meeting because she was feeling cross with me."

"From what Pansy told me, you stalked that poor girl to her lunch appointment until she fled back to work. That's hardly appropriate behavior for anyone much less you." He opened a mouth to protest, but she waved him to silence. "Now you will listen to me. You will swallow your pride and compose a polite note to Miss Granger, humbly asking for an appointment with her at her earliest convenience. I know that is a lot to ask of you, and so if you need help, I can dictate the letter for you."

She went on. "When she replies with a date and time, you will send another owl thanking her for such consideration. You will then proceed to keep that appointment. In fact, you will be early for your meeting with her, and there will be no unfounded accusations flying from you. This is too important for you to screw up the way you have been. You will calmly lay out your case and the facts on your side in order to make your appeal that inspection process is modified."

"But what if that isn't enough?" he cried. "What if she refuses to listen to me and just rejects my request out of hand?"

"We will deal with that situation if it comes to that," his mother replied. "Pansy has assured me that Miss Granger tries very hard to be fair in her decisions. Indeed the actions she has taken since taking over her department support that. Don't forget that she had agreed to meet with you initially—unlike that fool Collins before her."

"Fine," Draco grumbled. "We'll try it your way. But I reserve the right to tell you 'I told you so' when it fails." He shuffled over his desk to pull out quill and parchment.

"That's fine, my dear, so long as you don't mind me doing the same when I'm proven right," was his mother's response. "Will you need any help?" she asked.

"I can do this. Don't worry, Mother. I will be the epitome of politeness." He ignored the soft snort that came from her and instead sat down. Draco bent his head and started composing his letter, taking care to be as polite and professional as possible. He sealed it as soon as he finished. Draco walked over to where his owl perched waiting by the window and carefully tied the letter to the owl's leg before sending the bird off. "There!" he said. "It is done. Now all we have to do is wait for Granger to prove me right."

"Something tells me you're in for a surprise," his mother said, but she left him alone after that.

* * *

There was a scratch at her window. Hermione looked up to see an owl fluttering outside with a note tied upon its leg. With a small frown, she got up to let the owl in. "Letters are supposed to go through the mail room first," she told it primly. The owl didn't care and simply shook its leg, all but ordering her to take the damn letter.

"Fine," she said with a roll of her eyes. She untied the letter and then waved it off. "Go on then. I don't keep any treats here. If you wanted one, you should have gone to the mail room, like I said." The owl hooted once in disgust and then left.

Hermione carefully set the letter down on her desk. She proceeded to test it to see if any hexes or curses were attached. She found none and so she settled down to open it.

Of course it was from Malfoy. Who else would be arrogant enough to send an owl directly to her rather than through the normal channels of correspondence?

She ripped out a sheet of parchment from her desk. Hermione had half a mind to tell Malfoy off and let him know that she had no time to meet with arrogant prats like him. However before she touched ink to parchment, she remembered the conversation she had with Ginny the other evening, about Dennis and how he was concerned about losing his job. Her traitorous memory instantly provided her with all the details of that conversation, including how Ginny claimed that Dennis had trouble finding a job in the first place because he was a Muggle-born and how this was supposedly the best job he ever had.

Damn it, she was just going to have to be the bigger person. Hermione closed her eyes before returning to her task. She would offer the ferret a meeting first thing next week. If getting the restrictions on his company lifted was as important as his note implied, then he would be there.

If not, then she would know not to waste her time on him ever again.

* * *

"Well?" asked his mother, tapping her foot against the floor.

"You were right," Draco said shortly. He felt like crumpling Granger's terse note and throwing it out, but he resisted the temptation. No, he would control his temper both now and later when he met with her. He wasn't about to let this chance pass him by.

* * *

**Author's note:** Long time, no update. Sorry about that. In any case, I'd love to hear what you thought about this chapter. :)


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